Locking device for outboard motor

ABSTRACT

Subject of the invention is a locking device in which there is a locking part ( 1; 19 ) preventing the opening and the releasing of the attaching organs of an outboard motor. Characteristic to the device according to the invention is that there is an attaching part ( 2; 20 ) to be attached to the back board of a boat and that to this attaching part a locking part ( 1; 19 ) can be attached and locked with a lock ( 3; 23 ).

Subject of the invention is a locking device for an outboard motor,which includes a locking part to prevent the opening and the releasingof attaching organs of an outboard motor.

To release an unlocked outboard motor it is enough to open the attachingorgans of the outboard motor and release the control cable, the fuelhose and the electric wires. It takes only a few minutes for a thief,equipped with suitable tools to do this. There are some different kindsof locking devices to make it difficult to release an outboard motorunauthorised and to minimise thefts. There is usually a locking part tobe attached with a lock to attaching organs of an outboard motor, whichcovers the turning organs of the attaching organs so that opening of theattaching organs by turning with fingers is not possible. Weakness of alocking device attached like this is, however, the fact that attachingorgans of an outboard motor are not constructed to be thief-proof.Therefore releasing a locking part from attaching organs of an outboardmotor can be accomplished rather easy and quickly for instance by pryingthe locking part from attaching organs with a crowbar. Furthermore mostof the known locking devices of an outboard motor of today areconstructively weak and therefore easy to break by other means.

The purpose of the invention is to create a locking device for anoutboard motor, which excludes earlier mentioned problems. The specialpurpose of the invention is to present a locking device for an outboardmotor which is stronger and more difficult to break open with differentkinds of breaking tools, like prying, winding or bending with a crowbarthan earlier locking devices. Furthermore the purpose of the inventionis to present a relatively simple and advantageous locking devise for anoutboard motor, which is easy to use, suitable for most models of anoutboard motor and has a stylish outlook.

The purpose of the invention is achieved by a locking device for anoutboard motor, characteristic of which is what has been presented inthe claims.

Characteristic to the locking device according to the invention is thefact that in the locking device there is an attaching part to be fixedto the backboard of a boat, and to this attaching part the lockingdevice is to be attached and locked with a lock. In this way a lockingpart preventing the opening of attaching organs of an outboard motor canbe adjusted on the attaching organs of an outboard motor so that it ismuch more difficult to break it open. Therefore with this the lockingdevice will be more reliable and stronger than the earlier lockingdevices and this is more difficult to break with different kinds ofbreaking tools like crowbars. Furthermore this kind of locking device isrelatively simple, advantageous and suitable for most models of anoutboard motor.

In an advantageous application of the invention there is at least oneattaching organ to attach the attaching part to the backboard of a boatin the locking device. In this way the attaching part can be attachedsimply and it will be difficult to release it by force from thebackboard of a boat. Furthermore in this way the releasing of theattaching part and of the outboard motor that has been attached to itand to the backboard by sliding the outboard motor and its attachingorgans upwards is prevented.

In the second advantageous application of the invention there is asupporting component to be attached against the backboard of the boat inthe attaching part to prevent the releasing of the attaching part. Thesupporting component prevents the bending sideways of the attaching partand the cutting of the attaching part and with it the attaching part canbe attached against the back board with its attaching organ and with theattaching organs of the outboard motor itself. That is why thesupporting component makes it much more difficult to release theattaching part and break the locking device open.

In the third advantageous application of the invention there is at leastone attaching organ to be locked with a lock to attach the locking partto the attaching part in the locking device. This is how the lockingpart can be attached fast and easy to be locked to the attaching part.

In the fourth advantageous application of the invention there is anattaching component connected to the locking part to attach the lockingpart to the attaching part in the locking part. With the help of theattaching component the locking part can be adjusted with the attachingorgans of the outboard motor reliably and strongly and so that it isdifficult to break it open. Furthermore inside this kind of an attachingcomponent it is easy to create a lock nest to be closed reliably withmany different kinds of locks.

In the fifth advantageous application of the invention there is a locknest in the locking part to prevent the opening of the attaching organsof the locking part with the lock that can be locked to the lock nest.In this way a lock that is simply and reliable and very difficult tobreak open has been created to prevent the opening of the attachingorgans between the locking part and attaching part.

In the sixth advantageous application of the invention there is at leastone covering component in the locking device to cover the attachingorgans of the locking part and to prevent their opening. In this way theopening of the attaching organs between the locking part and theattaching part with different kinds tools, like tongs or iron saws ismade essentially more difficult relatively simply and reliably.

In the seventh advantageous application of the invention there is ascrew organ attached to a nut organ that is attached to the attachingpart as an attaching organ. With the help of this kind of an attachingorgan the attaching is made strong and it is easy to open after openingthe locking device. Furthermore with the help of this kind of anattaching organ the distance between the locking part and the attachingpart can be made easy and simply to adjust, and this way the lockingdevice can be suitable for many different kinds of outboard motors withdifferent sizes and with different kinds of attaching organs.

In the eight advantageous application of the invention there is a screworgan attached to the backboard of a boat as an attaching organ of theattaching part. A screw organ is a simple and advantageous attachingorgan, with the help of which the attaching part can be attached to theback board of a boat well adapted to its purpose strong and reliably andso that it is difficult to release it by lifting the outboard motor up.

In the ninth advantageous application of the invention there is a pivotlock to be locked to a lock nest as a locking device. A pivot lock isperfectly suitable to lock a lock nest that covers a screw organ.Furthermore it is reliable, small in size and hard to break open whenattached to a lock nest

In the following the invention is presented more detailed referring todrawings, in which

in FIG. 1 there is a perspective figure of a locking device for anoutboard motor according to the invention, and

in FIG. 2 there is a perspective figure of another locking device for anoutboard motor according to the invention.

According to FIG. 1 there is a locking part 1 and an attaching part 2and attaching organs 4, 7 and 8 of the locking part 1 and the attachingpart 2 to be locked with a lock 3 in the locking device of an outboardmotor that is to be attached to a back board 5 of a boat. In the lockingpart there is a frame component 12, in the ends that go to the sides ofwhich there are the head components 13. Besides this there is anattaching component 9 in the locking part 1 and a lock nest 10 inside ofthe attaching component. In the attaching part 2 there is a supportingpart 6 and at the middle point of it where the hole for the screw organ4 is, there is a covering part 11. There is a nut organ 8 and a screworgan 4 of the attaching part and a screw organ 7 of the locking organto be attached to the nut organ 8 in the attaching organs of the lockingpart and the attaching part.

In the application according to FIG. 1 the frame component 12 of thelocking part 1 is a square C-profiled pipe component open on thebackside. The attaching component 9 is a square component by crosssection of suitable length and size and has been attached to the middlepoint on the frame component on the inner surface of a web plate in theplace where the hole 17 is. The attaching component 9 reaches throughopen space on the back side of the frame component 12 outside it to theattaching part 2 according to FIG. 1. The lock nest 10 created insidethe attaching component is by the inner diameter the same size as theouter diameter of the hole 17 in front of the locking part and the lock3. From the back part of the lock nest to the backside of the attachingcomponent 9 reaches a hole slightly smaller by diameter than the locknest and similar to the outer diameter of the nut organ by size. In thisway there is a shoulder left in the back part of the lock nest and therewill the head of the screw organ 7 be locked when it is screwed on thenut organ 8 deep enough. There is a hole in a suitable place in the backpart of the lock nest to lock the lock and in this hole there is a pivotorgan 15 of the lock 3 to be attached to the lock nest when the lock islocked inside the lock nest 10.

The supporting component 6 of the attaching part 2 is a square componentmade of plate upper and lower edges of which have been bent diagonallybackwards according to FIG. 1. The covering component 11 that covers thescrew organ 4 and is supported to the attaching part of the locking partis a pipe component square by cross section and the inner dimensions ofwhich are the same as the outer dimensions of the attaching component 9,and therefore the attaching component 9 can be adjusted inside thecovering component 11. The length of the covering component allows thecovering component and the attaching component to form a telescopicconstruction that covers the screw organ 4 despite of the place wherethe locking part 1 is adjusted according to attaching part 2 by the nutorgan 8. Angularity of the attaching component 9 and the coveringcomponent 11 prevents the screwing of the locking part according toattaching part and when inside each other the components prevent alsothe bending of the locking part sideways according to the attachingpart.

As an attaching organ of the attaching part there is a screw organ 4,which is a lock cap screw to be placed through the hole 14 on the backboard 5 and the attaching part 2 to the nut organ which is located inthe back end of the attaching component in the application according toFIG. 1. The nut organ 8 is larger by outer diameter than the hole in thesupporting part 6 of the attaching part 2, so that the supporting part 6can be screwed with the nut, organ 8 against the backboard. Besides theearlier mentioned attaching the supporting part is attached withoutboard motor's own attaching organs 16 to the back board 5, and theseattaching organs 16 are placed against the supporting part 6 aspresented in FIG. 1. There are attaching organs that go through thebackboard in some outboard motor models. For those there will bemade/there are holes in the supporting part, and with the help of theseholes the supporting part is attached to the attaching organs of anoutboard motor.

As an attaching organ of the locking part there is a screw organ 7,which is in the application according to FIG. 1 a slotted head screwsuitable with the nut organ 8. The locking part 1 is attached againstthe shoulder in the back part of the lock nest 10 to the nut organ 8with the screw organ 7. In this way the screw organ 7 presses the framepart 12 of the locking part 1 against the frame part (not shown in thefigure) of the attaching organs 16 of the outboard motor and on theturning organ 18, which are part of the attaching organs, and in thisway the turning of the attaching organs 16 of an outboard motor is nolonger possible. The lock 3 to be attached to the lock nest 10 is apivot lock to be locked to a hole in the lock nest with the pivot organ15. The pivot lock that serves as a lock 3 is a known lock by itsconstruction in which there is a pivot organ 15 that moves outside fromthe inside of the lock frame when the lock is turned to the lockingposition with a key. As a lock 3 another kind of lock with the help ofwhich the opening of the attaching organ 7 can be functional preventedcan also be used.

When an outboard motor equipped with attaching organs which aretightened up with a lock according to FIG. 1 is attached and locked tothe back board of a boat first the attaching part 2 is attached with ascrew organ 4 and the nut organ 8 to the back board of a boat. Afterthis an outboard motor is adjusted to the backboard of the boat and theattaching organs are tightened up so, that they are placed against thesupporting part 6 of the attaching part, on the both sides of thecovering part 11. The locking part 1 is placed next on the attachingorgans of the outboard motor so, that the turning organs, which are apart of the attaching organs of the outboard motor, stay hidden insidethe frame component 12 of the locking part. After this the screw organ 7of the locking part 1 is adjusted and tightened up to the bottom of thelock nest 10, and this way the locking part is tightened up against theframe part of the attaching organs. Finally lock 3 is pushed to the locknest 10 and locked to its place with attached key. The locking is openedand the outboard motor is released by doing earlier phases in reverseorder.

There is another application of the locking device for an outboard motoraccording to the invention presented in the FIG. 2. In this applicationthe frame component 21 of the locking part 19 is similar by shape toforegoing application but bigger in longitudinal direction of theattaching organs. The attaching component 22 is a square component alsosimilar to the application in FIG. 1 attached at the hole 24 made forthe lock 23 on the inner surface of the front plate of the framecomponent 21. Because of the bigger size of the frame component 21 itstays, however, in its entirety inside the frame component in thisapplication.

Attaching part 20 has been formed from a supporting component 25 and twocovering components 26 made of sheet metal in its both ends in theapplication according to FIG. 2. Their purpose is similar to the purposeof the covering component 11 in the application according to FIG. 1 toprevent the opening of the attaching organ 27 between the locking part19 and the attaching part 20. In the middle of the supporting component25 there is a nut organ 28, which is functioning as an attaching organof the attaching organ 27. There is a screw organ to be attached to thenut organ 28 as an attaching organ 27 of the locking part in this case,which is attached to the shoulder in the bottom of the lock nest 29inside the attaching component similar to the attaching organ 7 in theapplication according to FIG. 1. In the application according to FIG. 2there are holes 30 and 31 on the both ends of the supporting component25 of the attaching part 20 for the attaching organs of the outboardmotor to be attached through the back board. Because of these there areno other attaching organs in the attaching part in this case. However,in another application according to FIG. 2 which is meant for outboardmotors equipped with attaching organs to be tightened up to the backboard, there is a wooden screw or some other suitable attaching organ tobe screwed through a hole bored next to the nut organ to the back boardof the boat and with the help of this attaching organ sliding of theattaching part can be prevented.

Locking device for an outboard motor according to the invention can beaccomplished also in many other ways as distinct from applicationsaccording to FIGS. 1 and 2. In one of the simple applications for alocking device chiefly meant for small outboard motors the attachingpart can be just a pipe-type component similar to the covering component11 in the FIG. 1, which is attached with a screw to the back board of aboat. In that case the frame component of the locking part is smaller insize and the attaching component attached to it can be a pipe component,similar by shape to the attaching part, but the outer dimensions ofwhich are similar to the inner dimensions of the attaching part andwhich is closed in the back end with a metal sheet with a hole in it.This pipe component is pushed inside the attaching component whenlocking the outboard motor and attached to the attaching componentthrough a hole in the back end of the attaching component with a screworgan, the opening of which is prevented with a lock like a padlock tobe placed in front of the screw organs through holes in the wall of theattaching component. A more complicated application than FIGS. 1 and 2can be for instance a combination of earlier mentioned, in which thereare constructional solutions of different parts of the locking devicefrom all earlier presented applications in the attaching part as theneed arises. In this way the locking device according to the inventioncan be created to be suitable to most models of outboard motors,functional and reasonable by purchase price for different requirements.

The invention is not limited to above presented applications but canvary within the framework of inventional idea according to the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A locking device for an outboard motor having atleast one mounting member for securing the motor to the back board of aboat, the locking device comprising: an attaching part to be attached tothe back board of the boat, a locking part for preventing the openingand releasing of the mounting member of the outboard motor, an attachingelement for securing the locking part to the attaching part at aselectively adjustable distance therefrom, a locating structure betweenthe attaching part and the locking part for preventing turning of thelocking part and which is made of at least two parts which are mainlyrectangular in cross section and which are fitted within each other, anda lock for locking the attaching element.
 2. A locking device accordingto claim 1, comprising at least one attachment element for attaching theattaching part to the back board of the boat.
 3. A locking deviceaccording to claim 2, wherein the attaching member for attaching theattaching part to the back board of the boat is a screw.
 4. A lockingdevice according to claim 1, wherein the attaching part includes asupporting part to be attached against the back board of the boat.
 5. Alocking device according to claim 1, wherein the attaching structureincludes an attaching member connected to the locking part.
 6. A lockingdevice according to claim 1, comprising a lock nest in the locking partfor receiving the lock and wherein the lock prevents release of theattaching element.
 7. A locking device according to claim 6, wherein thelock is a pivot lock to be locked to the lock nest.
 8. A locking deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the attaching structure includes a covercomponent for limiting access to the attaching element.
 9. A lockingdevice according to claim 1, wherein the attaching element comprises ascrew that is in threaded engagement with a nut in the attaching part.